TY - JOUR

T1 - Development of an Ultrasound Technique to Evaluate the Popliteal Complex in the Horse

AU - Møller-Jensen, Merete

AU - Blomquist, Michaela Hansen

AU - Mortensen, Camilla Lamhauge

AU - Olsson, Isolde Katharina Christersdotter

AU - Cuevas-Ramos, Gabriel

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The popliteal tendon and muscle are major stabilizers of the human and dog knee, more specifically the postero-lateral corner. Injury to this complex causes posterior knee pain, and it is generally associated with other injured structures such as the lateral collateral ligament, lateral meniscus, and/or the cranial cruciate ligament. The popliteal complex is poorly reported in the horse, and its specific function has not been determined. Nevertheless, it is likely that it is similar to that of other species, and that injury to it could have similar clinical repercussions. Lameness due to stifle pathology is a serious clinical entity in sport horses. One of the cardinal diagnostic tools in lameness exams is ultrasonography; however, a comprehensive technique to examine the popliteal complex (tendon and muscle) in the horse has not been reported. The objective of the study was to develop a systematic ultrasound technique of the equine popliteal complex that allows identification of the insertion and variations of the popliteal tendon (PopT), as well as examination of the popliteal muscle (PopM). Comparison between anatomical variants among horses was studied in order to identify possible significant differences. For this, 10 university teaching horses were used, hence 20 stifles were examined, several times. With the ultrasound technique presented here, the PopT and PopM are consistently examined. The developed technique allows reliable examination of the popliteal complex in the horse, and it could be included during standard ultrasound examination of equine stifle.

AB - The popliteal tendon and muscle are major stabilizers of the human and dog knee, more specifically the postero-lateral corner. Injury to this complex causes posterior knee pain, and it is generally associated with other injured structures such as the lateral collateral ligament, lateral meniscus, and/or the cranial cruciate ligament. The popliteal complex is poorly reported in the horse, and its specific function has not been determined. Nevertheless, it is likely that it is similar to that of other species, and that injury to it could have similar clinical repercussions. Lameness due to stifle pathology is a serious clinical entity in sport horses. One of the cardinal diagnostic tools in lameness exams is ultrasonography; however, a comprehensive technique to examine the popliteal complex (tendon and muscle) in the horse has not been reported. The objective of the study was to develop a systematic ultrasound technique of the equine popliteal complex that allows identification of the insertion and variations of the popliteal tendon (PopT), as well as examination of the popliteal muscle (PopM). Comparison between anatomical variants among horses was studied in order to identify possible significant differences. For this, 10 university teaching horses were used, hence 20 stifles were examined, several times. With the ultrasound technique presented here, the PopT and PopM are consistently examined. The developed technique allows reliable examination of the popliteal complex in the horse, and it could be included during standard ultrasound examination of equine stifle.

KW - Equine

KW - Popliteal muscle

KW - Popliteal tendon

KW - Stifle

KW - Ultrasound

U2 - 10.3390/ani12070800

DO - 10.3390/ani12070800

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35405791

AN - SCOPUS:85126985048

VL - 12

JO - Animals

JF - Animals

SN - 2076-2615

IS - 7

M1 - 800

ER -